Centrifugal clothes drying and rinsing apparatus



Dec. 30, 1930. GELDHOF 1,787,242

CENTRIFUGAL CLOTHES DRYING AND RINSING AFPARATUS Filed Aug. 6, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I mw w E Dec. 30, 1930. P. E. GELDHOF 1,787,242

v CENTRIFUG'AL CLOTHES DRYING AND RINSING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 6, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Dec. 30, 1930 V UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PETER E. GELDHOF, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO SYRACUSE WASHING I MACHINE CORPORATION, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF DELA- WARE CENTRIFUGAL CLOTHES DRYING: AND .RINSING APPARATUS Application filed August 6, 1927. Serial No. 211,115.

This invention relates to a centrifugal clothes drying and rinsing apparatus involving the use of an upright rotary container for the clothes rotatable about a vertical axis and provided with a foraminous Peripheral wall through which the water or other washing or rinsing fluid is expelled by centrifugal force during the rotation of the container and elevated by the same force to any desired level where it is collected and diverted through suitable channels in any lateral'direction and discharged into another receptacle or into waste or drainage conduits, as desired.

It is well known that if anyfluid per se or held in saturation by an absorbent is con-v fined in a rotary receptacle the fluid will'be displaced by centrifugal force from the center outwardly and caused to rise to varying levels according to the speed of rotation along the peripheral wall of the confining medium and the main object of the present invention is to provide simple and eflicient means for directing the centrifugally expelled fluid upwardly to any suitable overflow level without the use of pumps or extra fluid impelling means so that it may be discharged from said level into other receptacles or waste conduits by the same centrifugal force.

.In other words, I have sought to accomplish this desired uplift of the centrifugal expelled liquid by means of an inverted frustoconical or upwardly-flaring confining medium or balfle shell surrounding the perforated container mainly in radially spaced relation thereto for the purpose of facilitating and accelerating the up-flow of the expelled fluid through suitable outlets and into a collecting trough or chamber from which the fluid may be discharged in any lateral direction desired.

Another objectis to provide the collecting chamber or trough with a lateral discharge nozzle or outlet and to support the trough in such manner that it may be adjusted angularly about the axis of rotaLon of the container for effecting a corresponding angular adjustment of the discharge nozzle as may be required for discharging the expelled fluid into other receptacles.

I Other objects and uses relating to specific parts ,of the apparatus-will be brought out in the following description.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of an apparatus embodying the various features of the invention.

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken in the'plane of line 2-2, Figure 1.

As illustrated, this apparatus comprises a main supporting frame which, in this instance, may be made in the form of a circular vat or tub -1 having a central gland 2 in the bottom thereof for receiving a rotary'driving shaft --3 which maybe connected to any suitable source of power, not necessary to illustrate or describe for rotating the clothes-container.

A ring 4 is mounted upon the upper end of the vat 1- and permanently secured thereto by spot welding, brazing or otherwise to extend upwardly therefrom and thereby to form a bearing for an angular adjustable head or shelf -5 which rests upon the upper edge of the ring 4- in a substantially horizontal plane and is provided with a downwardly extending circular flange 6 journaled within and upon the ring -4-- for angular adjustment.

The ring -4-fiis provided with an inwardly projecting annular flange -7 upon which the lower edge of the flange -6- is adapted to rest.

An annular retainer ring 8- is secured or otherwise secured to the inner face of the flange '6 to extend downwardly across the inner face of and under the flange 7- to hold the head or shelf 5 against upward displacement without interfering with its free angular movement.

The portion of the head or shelf --5 immediately above the annular flange -6- is -provided with outward and inner annular i the trough into another receptacle or into a waste pipe as may be desired.

This head or shelf is also provided with a laterally extending drain board 5, Figure 2, adjacent the nozzle -12 as shown in Figure 2, adapted to extend over the top of an adjacent tub A of a clothes Washing machine with which the centrifugal drier is referably associated to facilitate the transer of clothes from thewashing machine to the drier and also to drain the washing fluid back into the tub during such transfer.

The outer annular flange 9-- is provided with a laterally and upwardly extending offset annular ledge --l3 for receiving and supporting a cover plate 14 which is preferably hinged at -l5 to said offset to swing about a horizontal axis to and from a position across the-top of the tub 1 and col- V lecting chamber 11.

Associated with the shelf --5 and its collecting chamber or trough is the means for carrying out the main object of the present invention, said means consisting in this instance of an outer upright imperforate shell -16 and an inner upright foraminous shell or basket 17 adapted to receivethe clothes from which the washing fluid is to be extracted by centrifugal force.

As illustrated, the shells 16- and'-17- are co-axial and concentric and are united at their lower ends and provided with an imperforate bottom wall commonvto both shells,

ut obviously may be otherwise united if de sired without departing from the spirit of this invention, the remaining superposed portions of the shells being arranged in spaced relation to form an intervening chamber 19-- for receiving the washing fluid expelled from the clothes by centrifugal force when the shells are rotated in a manner hereinafter described.

These shells constitute what may be broadly termed a receptacle for the clothes and washing fluid and are adapted to be removed or reinserted as a unit through the open upper end of the tub 1 and head 5-.- when the cover 14- is opened and when placed in operative position within the tub and head extend from a level near the bottom of the tub some distance above the bottom of the head -5-- in concentric spaced relation thereto with just sufficient clearance between the outer shell 16 and inner periphery of the tub --1- and head 5- to avoid friction therewith.

The driving shaft 3 extends some distanceabove the bottom of the tub 1-- for receiving and supporting the outer and inner shells 16 and 17 coaxial therewith.

The bottom -'18 of the receptacle comprising the shells --16- and 17- is provided with a central hub 20- having a central angular socket 21 for receiving the angular upper end 3- of the driving shaft 3 to impart rotary motion to the receptacle as the shaft 3- is rotated and also to permit upward displacement of the receptacle from the driving shaft when it is desired to remove the receptacle from the tub for cleansing or other purposes. The inner receptacle ,17"s preferably cylindrical and provided with a perforated peripheral wall extending from the bottom 18- to approximately the level of the upper end of the inner flange '-10- of the head 5-.

The outer shell -16- is preferably made in the form of an inverted truncated cone taperedfrom top to bottom and having its lower end united to the periphery of the bottom 18 and adjacent lower end of the shell 17- and its remaining portion flaring upwardly and extended to a level slightly above the upper edge .of the inner flange 10- of the head 5-- and therefore in spaced relation to the periphery of the inner shell 17, the upper end'of the shell 16 being provided with an out-turned flange 16' for directing the upwardly flowing fluid into the collecting trough 11.

The upper end of the inner shell -17 is provided with an out-turned flange 23 terminating against the inner face of the adjacent portion of the shell 16 and pro vided with a series of peripheral recesses --21- to allow the washing fluid expelled by centrifugal force from the clothes in the container 17 to overflow therethrough into the collecting chamber or trough 11-.

When the wet or damp clothes are placed within the perforated cage or container 17- through the open upper end thereofv and both shells are rotated by the rotation of the driving shaft 3- the washing fluid or moisture present in the clothes will be exo through the nozzle -l2 into another r6:-

ceptacle or waste pipe as may be desired.

It will be observed that the upward flare of the outer shell 16 and its angular relation to the cylindrical wall of the shell 17 gradually increases the capacity of the chamber -19. from bottom to top thereby allowing ample space for theup-flow of the wash- .ing fluid along the upwardly flaring walls of the shell 16 which, by reason of its upward and outward inclination, not only directs the centrifugally expelled water upwardly and outwardly through the overflow passages 2 lbut also greatly facilitates and accelerates such discharge thereby reducing the load upon the driving motor.

The cover'1-'l, when closed, fits snugly against the upper edge of the outer wall 9- of the collecting chamber 11- to prevent leakage of the expelled fluid at the j oint. said cover being also provided with a downwardly projecting annular flange having its lower edge in close proximity to the upper edge of the flange 23 just at the inside of the discharge openings 24- to prevent the passage of the water from said discharge openings back into the container 17.

A lid '26- is journaled at 27'upon stood that the journal bearing 27 is coaxial with the axis of the driving shaft 3.

-A pertorated rinsing tube -22- similar to that shown in my pending application Serial No. 205,170, filed July 12, 1927, has its lower end removably seated in a socket in theupper end of the hub 20 and its upper end extended to approximately the level of the lid --2G and open at the top for receiving a rinsing fluid which may be introduced thereinto through a supply tube -28.

The tube may be connected to any available source of supply for the rinsing fluid.

and preferably extends through a tubular nipple 29 which in turn is secured to the lid 26 and extends through registering openings in said lid and cover 1 as shown in Figure 1.

' Operation l/Vhen it is desired to dry wet or damp clothes the cover 14 with the lid 26 thereon are first opened after which the wet clothes are placed within the container 17 to any desired height below the top of the container.

The cover l4 and lid -26 are then closed and locked in place by any suitable locking mechanism as, for example. that shown. in the joint application of Gcldhot shell 16- are rotated at suflicient speed to cause the expulsion of the moisture from the clothes through the perforations ot the container 17 and against the peripheral wall oi" the tapered shell 16.

gularly about the axis of the receptacle to discharge the fluid in any lateral direction.

What I claim is: 1. In a centrifugal clothes drier, a rotary container for the clothes having a vertical foraniinous peripheral wall, and a shell in cluding an axially tapered imperforate wall extending circumferentially around the foraminous wall of the container and rigidly connected thereto for deflecting the expelled fluid toward the larger portion of the shell away from the container. a collecting trough connnunitaiting with the larger end of the. shell for receiving the expelled fluid therefrom, a flange associated with the upper ends of the two walls for directing fluid into the trough, and means for rotating the container.

2. In a centrifugal clothes drier, a rotary container for the clothes having a vertical foraminous peripheral wall, and an axially tapered imperforate wallextending circumferentially around the forami'nous wall of the container and rigidly connected thereto for deflecting the expelled fluid toward the larger portion of the shell away from the container, a discharge conduit receiving the fluid from the larger end of the shell and adjustable about the axis thereof for discharging the fluid in different directions. means for directing the fluid between the walls into the conduit, and means for rotating the container.

3. In a centrifugal clothes drier, a container rotatable about a vertical axis and provided with a vertical foraminous periph eral wall, an upwardly flaring imperforate shell extending circumferentially around the foraminous wall of the container and rotatable therewith, said shell having an overflow outlet near its larger end, a second shell supported independently of the first named shell and provided with a circumferentially ext-ending trough for receiving fluid from said outlet, and a flange associated with the upper ends of the two shells for directing fluid into the overflow outlet, and means for rotating the container.

4. In a centrifugal clothes drier, a container rotatable about a vertical axis andprovided with a vertical foraminous peripheral wall. and an upwardly flaring imperforate shell extending circumferentially around the foraminous wall of the container and rotat} able therewith, said shell having an overflow outlet near its larger end, a second-shell supported independently of the first named shell and provided with a circumferentially extending trough for receiving fluid from said outlet, and an upwardly inclined flange between the foraminous wall and imperforate shell for directing fluid into the overflow outlet, and means for rotating the container.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 4th day of August, 1927.

PETER E. GELDHOF. 

